Introduction … ix
Twenty-Year Timeline … xv
Chapter 1: Mental Health … 1
“Hey Lady” … 2
“We’ve Been Robbed”… 4
Special Olympics … 9
Miss Cass …11
Slugger… 15
Going Up Yonder … 18
The Human Jukebox … 24
East Side … 27
9/11 … 30
XL … 33
Chapter 2: Food … 37
Leaving on a Jet Plane … 38
Two Things … 41
Food for Thought … 45
God Bless Us, Everyone … 50
Takeaway Meals … 54
Urban Gardens … 58
Chapter 3: Homelessness … 61
Den of Thieves … 62
Rotating Shelter … 66
In Cold Blood … 69
Lottery Losers … 73
Caroline … 75
NIMBY … 79
Chapter 4: Housing … 85
There’s Something About That Name … 86
Superman … 92
God’s Country … 97
Fourth Time’s The Charm … 100
White Castle … 104
A Tree Grows in Detroit … 109
Hey Ms. Tambourine Woman …112
Open Meetings … 115
Chapter 5: Jobs … 119
Million-Dollar Sofa … 120
South Detroit … 124
You Know You Are Home When … 129
The White House … 133
Liabilities … 138
Something That Doesn’t Love a Wall …143
Detroit Treads … 147
Chapter 6: Getting and Giving … 151
Haunted … 152
She’s Dead! … 155
Location, Location, Location … 158
Prospective Donor … 162
The Poor Will Always Be With You … 164
Hot Water … 171
An O. Henry Christmas … 173
Chapter 7: The D … 179
Andy and the Rental … 180
This Old House … 184
A House Is Not a Home … 189
Send in Suze Orman … 193
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down … 198
On the Road Again … 203
That Still, Small Voice … 208
Pancreatic Cancer … 211
She Works Hard For Her Money … 214
Epilogue … 218
Acknowledgements … 223
About the Author … 224
